❤️Celebration of Love ❤️

With Valentine’s Day nearly upon us, the month of February is truly a celebration of love. Heart-shaped chocolates, bouncy balloons, cute fluffy toys and dozens of red roses will be given and received as declarations of love.

Through the ages, love has been a favoured topic of poets, philosophers, writers and scientists, with many often debating its very definition.

While most people agree that love implies strong feelings of affection, disagreements arise about its precise meaning. And one person’s ‘I love you’ might mean something quite different from another’s.

So, during this month of love, ask yourself what is love? And what does it mean to you?

Possible definitions of love include a willingness to prioritize another’s well-being or happiness above your own. It could include extreme feelings of attachment and need. It might involve dramatic, sudden feelings of attraction and respect or fleeting emotions of care and affection. Or it might describe enduring feelings that have weathered the storms of life, feelings and emotions that have changed and transformed over time.

And don’t forget that love comes in many forms – the love for a partner or family members or the love one has for a child. You might love an animal or a hobby that brings you great joy. You might love to walk in nature or read a good book or go ballroom dancing. All of these are expressions of love.

And besides the concept of love for others, there’s the long-lasting love that one has for oneself – the all-important self-love.

Self-love is an appreciation and self-acceptance of everything that makes you who you are. It’s dedication to one’s well-being, be that mentally, physically or emotionally (from Averraglow.com).

Making time for your weekly Pilates class is the perfect example of an act of self-love. It is during that hour that you prioritize yourself and your health.  

According to Louise Hay, author of You Can Heal Your Life, practicing self-love is the answer to every problem you might encounter. Self-love does not mean narcissism or having a big ego. It means believing you are valuable just as you are.

When you love yourself, you feel worthy the way you are, and you put your happiness and well-being first. However, practicing self-love is not always easy. Today’s fast-paced lifestyle encourages perfectionism, which in turn breeds self-criticism – which is ultimately the polar opposite of loving oneself.

In this month’s blog, I invited one of my clients, Sue Spiegelhalter, to share her Love Story.

                “I met my husband-to-be when I was 16 and he was 18. We were at school and in the middle of exams. He was about to go off to university. I was heartbroken. However, we managed to see each other regularly and, by the end of his degree, he proposed. I didn’t hesitate. My answer was a resounding yes!

                Just before my 21st birthday, we married, and we bought our first house. Life was blissful until we discovered, after years of trying and medical interventions, I couldn’t have children. This was heart-breaking for us. However, we travelled the world and got on with life. We chose not to adopt a child…I wish now that we had.

                Roll on many years later – we both took early retirement, moving back to North Devon where we were both born. Then another heartbreak hit us. My love was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, for which the prognosis was 5 years. He underwent so many treatments, enduring them without complaining. Eleven years later I lost the love of my life.

                This heartbreak will never be mended and that is what I call LOVE. I was lucky to be married for 50 years to the most loving, funny, clever and modest man you could ever hope to meet.”

 Here are two quotes about love for you to reflect on during this beautiful month.

                “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”   - Katharine Hepburn

                “The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves or rather loved in spite of ourselves.”    - Victor Hugo

❤️Wishing you much love this Valentine’s Day!❤️

Cheryl🙏